1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« Study 1 examined the psychiatric and psychological difficulties of married adults with ADHD and thier spouses, with a particular focus on the quality of their marital adjustment and family functionning.
[...] Study 2, therfore, provides an important contribution to the base of knowledge concerning the needs of children with ADHD parents by evaluating the prevalence of psychiatric disorder, the psychological functioning, and the social functioning of children. » (p. 101)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« 33 adults with ADHD and the 26 comparison adults ». (p. 107) (The sample is the same for both studies)

Instruments :
1st study:
- the Patient’s Behavior Checklist (Barkley, 1991)
- the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS; Conners, Erhardt, & Sparrow, 1994)
- the Hollingshead Four-Factor Index of Social Status (Holingshead, 1975)
- the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for DSM-IV (DIS 4.0; Robins, 1997)
- Four-subtest short form of the WAIS-R: Information, Arithmetic, Picture Completion, and Block Design (Reynolds, Willson, & Clark, 1983)
- the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994)
2nd study:
- the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for DSM-IV (DIS 4.0; Robins, 1997)
- the Hollingshead Four-Factor Index of Social Status (Holingshead, 1975)
- the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991)
- the Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique et analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

« The psychosocial functioning of the families of clinic-referred adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was evaluated in two studies. Study 1 examined the psychiatric and psychological difficulties of married adults with ADHD and their spouses, with a focus on the quality of their marital adjustment and family functioning. Study 2 focused on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, the psychological functioning, and the social functioning of children with ADHD parents.
Results revealed that married adults with ADHD had higher rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders and more psychological distress than non-ADHD control adults. The spouses of adults with ADHD did not differ in rates of psychiatric disorders from the control spouses, however, they reported significantly higher levels of current psychological distress. Greater marital and family dysfunction were reported by adults with ADHD than control adults. The spouses of ADHD adults, however, did not report greater marital and family dysfunction than the spouses of controls.
The children of ADHD adults were found to be at high risk for ADHD. Forty-three percent of the children met DSM-IV criteria for the disorder. The children with ADHD were found to have higher rates of comorbid disorders, more psychological difficulties, and significantly poorer social functioning than the control children. The non-ADHD children of ADHD adults were not found to differ from control children on these measures. Having a parent without a psychiatric disorder in the home was found to have a protective effect on behavior problems in the non-ADHD children.
Together, these studies suggest that evaluating the functioning of family members and the health of the family relationships are important when assessing clinic-referred adults with ADHD. These results suggest that involving family members in the therapeutic process may be beneficial. » (pp. i-ii)